Merkel ally threatens Facebook with fines over online hate speech
Merkel ally threatens Facebook with fines over online
hate speech
December 7, 2016
ESSEN, Germany (Reuters) - A senior German conservative
has warned Facebook it could face fines if it fails to act faster to tackle
online hate speech, and he said the government could propose legislative
measures in the new year.
Speaking at a party conference of Chancellor Angela
Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) in Essen, western Germany, Volker Kauder
suggested politicians were running out of patience with efforts by social media
providers to crack down on hate speech.
"I expect from big companies like Facebook that they
adhere to laws. If they are not respected than we must think about new
possibilities, fines for example," he said.
Facebook declined immediate comment on his remarks.
Germany is seen as a forerunner when it comes to forcing
Facebook to step up efforts to police online hate speech, which has risen here
following an influx of almost one million migrants, mainly from the Middle
East, last year.
Politicians are also worried about how hate speech and
fake news could sway public opinion ahead of elections next year in which
Merkel will be running for a fourth term and facing an increasingly popular far
right.
Kauder rejected an argument by Facebook - which has
around 1.6 billion monthly users - that it is hard to quickly remove content
due to the volume of data it has to deal with.
"They say there is too much. But a big auto
manufacturer that produces millions of cars can't say: 'I produce so many cars
that I can't guarantee they are all secure.' No, that is not on. I expect and
demand from Facebook that laws are upheld."
Last year, Justice Minister Heiko Maas set up a task
force made up of representatives from Facebook, Google's YouTube and Twitter as
well as nonprofit groups to discuss ways to combat the rise in online hate
speech.
The platform providers signed up to a voluntary code of
conduct to take action to remove hate posts within 24 hours.
Results of a survey published in September by a group
that monitors hate speech found Facebook removed about 46 percent of illegal
content reported by users within 24 hours, significantly more than YouTube and
Twitter which deleted just 10 percent and about 1 percent respectively.
Maas has repeatedly warned that he will propose
legislation if the social media networks do not remove at least 70 percent of
hate speech by March next year.
Kauder said Maas, a member of the Social Democrats,
Merkel's junior coalition partner, was being too easy on social media.
"We have a roundtable and now we must wait ... but
after the Christmas break is the end of the roundtables. We've sat at
roundtables long enough. Now we want to see actions."
(Reporting by Paul Carrel; Writing by Caroline Copley;
editing by Mark Heinrich)
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